Intermittent feed mechanism



SePt 15, 1959 J. R. eur-:ss 2,904,167

INTERMITTENT FEED MECHANISM Filed July 23, 1955 a Snventor .u )n 'A doa-'PH' Ra/555 (lttorneg Set?? Patent 0 2,'94,6`7 nsrrERMl-'rT13-NTv FEED MECHANISM AJoseph Guess, Rosemead, Calif.. Application July 23, '1953, Serial No. stamt a Claims. (ci. s- 1135) This ilivritiohy relates to mechanism for intermittently feeding Wife, rod, t. t punch press Or like machine so that said nisch-ine may perform similar operations' on uniformly spaced portions of the wire or rod being s fed.

In the manufacture-f large-mesh metal screens, the cross wires or rods are usually initiallyprovidcd with series of crimps or offsets that interf'it with similar crimps on longitudinalv wires or fdsto' frfn' a.v s'cen. These crimps may lbe producedor formed in a" reciprocating punch press with the spacing of the vcrimpsaccording to the desired mesh gauge of the finished screen. .It is an object of lthis invention to providevnovel and improved means driven by a` punch Ap'ressto intermittently feed a wire yor rodV in exact linear iiicemenfs [so .that the puc'haid dieof said machine may `crimp'u' ori'nly spaced portions of said wire or ro'diii the exac't spacing desired.- i j,

Since the mesh gauge of4 screens varies, it is. another object of the inventionto'provide '"wf' or rd feeding mechanism that is adjustable lwith easy facility to provide exact desired spacing of the crimps produced in said wire or rod by a punch press.

The invention also has for its objects to provide such means that are positive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a Working position and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description. However, the drawing merely shows and the following description merely describes, one embodiment of the present invention, which is given by way of illustration or example only.

In the drawing, like reference characters designate similar parts inthe several views.

Fig. l is a front elevational view of intermittent feed mechanism according to the present invention and shown in operative connection with a punch press.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational View thereof.

In the drawing, the member 5 represents one side frame of a punch press or like machine, it being understood that said machine is provided with a die and punch to form crimps in a wire or rod 6 as the same is intermittently fed through the press. In the usual manner, the die is stationary and the punch reciprocates. The drawing shows a shaft 7 which is used for reciprocating the die, it being understood that each revolution of said shaft moves the punch from a retracted position into crimp-forming engagement with the die and back to retracted position. It is shaft 7 that is here used to drive the present feeding mechanism so that feed of wire or rod 6 is synchronized with the operation of the press and occurs during the retracted position of the punch.

The shaft 7 is provided with a cylindrical portion 8 that comprises the drum member of a brake and is engaged by a brake band 9 which arrests rotation of shaft 2,904,167 p atented Sept'. 15, 1959 icc Z. 7 when the saine is de-clutched in the usual manner of reci 'ating presses'. A radially extending guide 10 is pro' ded yori portion 8 and hasa slot 11 to adjustafbly r'c'ei've and hold the head 12 of a swivel fitting 13 that terminates in an arm 14. It will be clear that kthe cce'iitricity of swivel 13 relative to the axis of shaft 7 ca 15e-adjusted to obtain rciprocation of said swivel asf desired.,k Said swivel constitutes the driver of the present feeding mechanism. l

l"I'l'feedirig mechanism that is illustrated comprises, generally, a support bracket 15 affixed to the sideof press frame 5 and extending laterally therefrom, ratchet nieaiis 16 n the front side of bracket` 15 driven by swivel 14,- a shaft 17 extending through said bracket and intermittently rotated by said ratchet means, a sprocket wheel 18 axed to said shaft and on the opposite side of said bracket, a feed roller 19 on the front sideof Vthe bracket below and laterally outward of the ratchet means,- Aa shaft aixcd to vsaid roller and extending through said bracket, ay `changeable sprocket wheel. lcarried by shaft 20 in planar alignment with 'sprcket'w'heel 18, a slack chain 22 trainedY over wheels A21, an adjustable chain tightener 50 to remove slack' from said chain, an idler feed roller 23 in planar alignment with roller 19, and means 24 to' adjust roller 23 `to desired feed pressure engagement With wire or d 'f'extending between rollers 19 and 23.

The ratchet means 16 comprises a plate 25 carried by shaft `17and provided with a forwardly extending driving aridlocating pin 2 6, avlever arm 27 rotationally riiur'ited Varound shaft 1K7, a link 28 interconnecting said ifrf and' arm of swivel 13, va second levc'r arm 29 iixedto arm andgr'novable therewith, a spring-pressed faf'lietv Vdog 30 carried by arm 29, a ratchet disc 31 provided with a set of uniformly spaced ratchet teeth 32 mounted on shaft 17 against plate 25 and having a hole through which pin 26 extends, and means 33 to removably lock the ratchet wheel in place on shaft 17 and against plate 25.

Reciprocation of swivel 14, through link 28, causes oscillation of arms 27 and 29, and the dog 30 of the latter arm produces step-by-step rotation of ratchet wheel 31. The degree of angular advance of shaft 17 can be varied by the number of ratchet teeth provided on wheel 31, the stroke of swivel 13 being adjusted accordingly. In practice, a set of twelve ratchet discs is provided, the teeth thereof varying in number between five and sixteen so as to provide for a wide range of angular advance of shaft 17, the advance depending on the number of ratchet teeth on the wheel 31 that is used. Accordingly, sprocket wheel 18 is intermittently and uniformly advanced in angular increments as desired.

The changeable sprocket wheel 21 comprises a backing plate 34 aflbred to shaft 20, a driving and locating pin 35 on said plate, a sprocket disc 36 mounted on said shaft and having a hole receptive of pin 35, and means 37 to lock said disc in place.

If, in practice, sprocket wheel 21 has one hundred teeth, sprocket disc 36 may be one of a set of six discs having teeth varying in number between eighty-tive and ninety. Thus, by suitable selection of ratchet wheel 31, a close but approximate angular advance of feed roller 19 may be obtained, and, by suitable selection of sprocket disc 36, the exact advance of said feed roller may be obtained.

The chain 22 is made with sufficient slack so that it may remain endless at all times and readily trained over wheels 18 and 21 while slack. Chain tightener 50 may then be adjusted to remove all undue slack and back lash between the sprocket teeth and the chain links. Any chain tightener comparable to the one shown may be used.

can be advanced, in the direction shown, at intermittent angular increments of such exactness Ithat IWire or rod 6 is given an exact yand uniform intermittent feed, as desired. By regulating the means Z4-to create a desired pressure of vrollers 19 and 23 on said wire or rod, slippage is obviated. In any case, the peripheral faces of said rollers may be Toughened or knulrled to insure against slippage.

Y The means 24 that lis shown comprises a bracket 38, a screw stem 39 extending through said bracket, and a yoke 40 lrotationally connected .to` the end of said stein and mounting idler feed' roller 23='on shaft 411. A'lock nut 42 on stem 39 is used for locking the adjustment of said roller.

Since the chain Z2 cannot tbe so tightly rtautened as to bind, there is some possibility of overrun of the ntermittent feed above described. To prevent this, a brake orfriction drag, comprising a drum 43 on shaft 20 and a band 44 held tensioned around said drum by a spring 45, is provided `as seen in Fig. 2. Back lash of the mechanism is also prevented by said friction drag.

While I have illustrated Iand described what I now contemplate to be Ithe best mode of carrying out my invention, lthe construction is, of course, subject to modication without departing lfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. It is, therefore, not desired to restrict the invention to the particular form of construction illustrated `and described, but to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having-thus described the invention, 'what I claim and desireto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Mechanism for intermittently feeding a Wire through secured together and rotatably mounted on said shaft, Yone of said rarms carrying a dog adapted to engage with the teeth on the ratchet disc, a link connected to the end of the other arm, a rotatably mounted driving shaft, a crank pin on said driving shaft having means for adjusting it radially of the shaft, an 'arm connecting said pin to said link, a sprocket wheel secured on the other end of said iirst-named shaft, another shaft journaled in the sides of Ithe bracket, a wire feeding roll secured on said last-named shaft and a driven sprocket secured on the end of this shaft, a sprocket` chain trained loosely around the two sprocket wheels for driving the last named sprocket and the feeding roll from the first named sprocket, a slackv take-up means for the `said sprocket chain, and -a 4stem adjustably supported on the bracket and carrying a roller ladapted to engage the said wire passing between the Itwo rollers.

2. The invention as claimed in claim 1 wherein one ofthe said sprocket Wheels is removably secured on its shaft whereby sprocket .wheels having a different number of 4 teeth thereonmay be selectively mounted on the shaft. Y y

3. The invention as claimed in claim l wherein the driven sprocket has a drum thereon and a brake is engagecrimping mechanism comprising a frame, a supporting bracket carried by said frame, a shaft journaled in the sides of said bracket, -a plate secured to and adjacent one end .of said shaft, a ratchet disc positioned at the side of and removably secured to lthe plate, a pair of arms able with said drum.

i References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 492,574 Dayton Feb. 28, 1893 642,339' Kmmmel Jan. 30, 1900 ,1,107,382 Tygard Aug. 18, 1914 1,142,874l Cannon June 15, 1915 vr1,275,984 Bailey Aug. 13, 1918 1,833,746 Halll Nov. 24, 1931 2,121,080 Galkin June 21, 1938 2,564,886 y Epple Aug. 2'1, 1951 

